Stick to the deadline, the consequences might be too awful to ignore!

Its been a long time since the Government of India announced that linking of PAN and Aadhaar card is mandatory. And for those who haven’t linked their Aadhaar card to PAN card yet, 31st March 2019 has been declared as the last date to do so, according to the Income Tax Department.

What are the consequences of not meeting the last date? Read on to know all about it!

Will PAN be Invalid If Not Linked To Aadhaar?

The Income Tax Department has been sending out advertisements through newspapers and other media, requesting the public to link the PAN card and Aadhar card with each other. However, these advertisements do not reveal the consequences of not meeting the deadline of March 31, 2019. Also, this deadline has been pushed once from June 30, 2018.

Even if it has been postponed before, there is speculation that not linking PAN card with Aadhaar card will render the PAN card invalid. Also, the Income Tax Department has declared that the people whose PAN has not been linked with Aadhaar, will not be eligible to file income tax returns (ITR).

Link Your PAN to Aadhar Now!

Here’s how you can link the 10-digit PAN and 12-digit Aadhaar to each other in four ways:

Online Portal

You can follow the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal (incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in). Once you visit the page, you are required to click on the ‘link Aadhaar’ option available on the homepage. This will lead to another page on the website, where you can initiate a request asking to link the two cards to each other. You will be required to enter your details such as full name and PAN and Aadhaar details.

Income Tax Return

A request for linking of PAN and Aadhaar can be initiated while filing for income tax returns online as well. You can file for income tax returns on the links provided by the websites of NSDL (tin-nsdl.com) and UTIITSL (utiitsl.com), as well as the income tax e-filing portal.

SMS

SMS is probably the easiest way to link your PAN card and Aadhaar card. Just send an SMS to 567678 or 56161 in the following format:

UIDPAN<space><12-digit Aadhaar><space><10-digit PAN>

For example, UIDPAN 111122223333 AAAPA9999Q

PAN Card Application

For a new PAN card or for any changes to be made in the PAN card, you are required to fill out a form, and this form has an option of linking Aadhaar card to PAN card.

Update your Aadhaar Card Without Valid Address Proof

People frequently relocate to new places, and changing the address on the official documents is often a headache.

Not anymore! The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has come up with a way to change the address on the Aadhar card, and this will help citizens who have migrated to other places. Aadhaar card holders can change their address by providing an address validation letter instead of a valid proof of address.

Aadhaar card holders are required to get consent from an address lender or verifier who will allow their residence, which should also be Aadhaar registered to be used by the resident. Once this part is over, you can visit the online portal of UIDAI to generate an address validation letter after logging in with your Aadhaar credentials. A letter with a secret code will be sent to the verifier’s address.

After this, you are required to log in again and after clicking on the proceed to update address’ in the UIDAI portal, provide the secret code.

However, this method is restricted to address change only. For any other changes, visit the UIDAI’s enrolment or update center.